The Irish standard., 1887-02-05
NAE 1ousEKEe. q .G.
Eomc Amusing Features OF Life on the
Great Ranches of tie West.

MALE 7OlSENEct ia.
Eomc Amusing Features OF Life on the
Great Ranches of tie West.
One OF the most comical features OF
ranch life is the absence of femlninity.
No wonder. We are two hundred
miles from milliner's shop, with the
distance constantly on the increase.
Last Christmas a desperate effort was
made to celebrate the occasion ky,.a
ball. Over 10000 square miles of ter
rity was raked over, and the result was
seven fair maidens and over forty
dancing men. Each lady had six part
ners-a rather more than Scripture al
lowance. AS every body here is en-
gagged in cattle-rais1ng, and only gives
the odds and ends of his mind to
housekeeping, the full capacity Of the
male for that industry never is devel-
oped. He seldom or never gets much
beyond the manufacture ofplain bread,
coffee and steak. These three articles
he will produce from the raw materials,
taking his meat from the foot, it neces-
sary, upon very short notice. Even
I'll unframed chef can boil potatoes, or
open one end Of fruit-can and pass it
around the table, letting each feeder
extract with his fork ad libitum.
Cooking, however, is only one detail
of successful housekeeping. The
laundry must be attended to. TlTa
cook must occasionally act as chamber
maid and undertaker-all OF which is
q severe tax upon untutOred mascu-
Unity. ...
one of the most celebrated men in
the West is MI. -----. lie has shot in-
Vulnerable Indians, and is always in
demand when there is a horse-thief
abroad. He wears his hair long, and
strikinlyly reminds one OF Buffalo Bill.
1 first saw an immense photograph of
this warrior in the window OF a saloon,
and it was a sight to chill q mans
blood. A few days afterward, stop
ping at ranch, noticed u man with
his rifle beside him, bonding over a
wash-board and peacefully soaping a
pair Of stockings. This was Mr.. $50,
the tarrorof County, and for whom
awaits some day 81 bloody death. He
is one oil the most hospitable of men.
Whoever visits him is sure of a good
dinner, although female hand has new
er consecrated his cook-stove. His
ranch is OF haronial proportions, and
il it only had a floor, would be almost
luxurious. The adobe walls are dec
GRATED with either white muslin or
brown wrapping-paper. A suite OF
rooms in brown is preferable, because,
after the lapse of a few years, the yir-
Gin purity Of the white muslin is apt to
get hy-specied and torn.
The male housokeeper makes short
work OF his duties as chambermaid.
AS the guests sleep in blankets and he
only sweeps out once month, he bor-
rows no trouble. One wash-basin and
towel (renewed weekly) supply the
household. BY and by the tooth brush
will make it's appearance, and after
ward the barber But we will not an
ticipate matters. For the present every
man is his own artist and tailor. The
cowboy, as rule, is q great reader.
Lis appetite for magazines and news
papers is abnormal,
Itis murvelous how comfortable an
open~air camp can be made. 1t takes
but q few minutes to feed and hobble
the horses and build a lire. In ten lnin-
utos more the bacon will be sizzling in
tie skillet, the dough browning and
the cotfcc-p pot habbliEg and Walloping.
There is no table. Each gentleman
helps himself There are Il uozen ways
OF making :; comfortable bed in the
open air, Il the night is windy, and
no cedar is near the Wagon-box if you
happen to have one}, set up against
the wind makes an excellent shelter.
for the head, and with the feet to the
fire, and q saddle for q PILLOW, and 81
King. 1t never rains. II the night
! is very cold tires are made up and al
lowed to die, and the boys sleep i'll the
warm ashes and sand. What about
sickness? This is an item never catcu-
lated upon. An occasional horse-klck
or a gun-shot wound is the extent ct
the cowboys ailments. AS there are
no doctors to be had, every one must
be his own physician. Occasionally p
man meets q violent death. AS there
are no preachers. and praying is a lost
art, the funeral is soon dispatched. A
cracker~box for the bead, sand for the
winding-sheet, and the howl OF the
coyote, and the everlasting winds for
his REQUIEM, constitutes the frontiers
mans obsequies. .-
1t is wonderful how much good nat
ure and cheerfulness this open-alr life
develops. While the ranchmen are by
no means saints, and have rather more
than the average of sins. yet they are
| full Of good fellowship. The house
keeper is always glad to receive guests
the more the merrier. A large ranch
has cabins at every water-hole, and the
rent is always tree. A stranger usually
takes possession. cooks at the tire
place, Sleeps in the best bedroom and
in the morning is off and no questions
asked.-Ar&zoaaa Cor. Indianapolis Jour-
saaz.
What Worried the Statesman.
Rising Statesman to Reporter-Tm IN
very glad to see you, but OF course you
will not mention that this is my birth